Runaway Rainbow (BTT x Reader)
by DarlingOlive
Summary: Antonio, Gilbert and Francis are enjoying a road trip when they come across a hitchhiker who turns out to be an old classmate, to all of their surprise. Unfortunately, the reunion isn't pleasant, and the road trip turns into something bigger than any of them ever would have imagined...
1. Yellow

Chapter 1: Yellow

Generally, when one is perhaps about to do one of the most calamitous things they've ever done, in an effort to change their life, they don't do it spontaneously. It's planned; calculated to minimise chances of failure. This was exactly the case for [Name].

There were a few essentials on her list: A fake ID, nineteen years worth of life savings, a change of clothes and some hygiene products.

Each item was stuffed into a worn, black backpack, along with some other non-essentials she had made room for, including her iPod and earphones, as well as a notebook and pen. In her own mind, those two were for emotional stability as she embarked on what she knew for certain would be some of the hardest days of her life.

And with a life like her own, that was quite the accomplishment.

After multiple checks that not one part of her plan had been left unattended, [Name] headed out of her bedroom, only taking one step out of the small room before stopping abruptly, her stance tense. She listened out carefully with well-trained ears, until the deep sound of a loud snore boomed from downstairs.

So He was asleep; good.

Creeping across the landing and to the narrow staircase, the [dark/light] haired woman made her way down every step with immense caution, each tiny creak resounding in her head like a banshees cry. By the time she had made it down the stairs, her body was rigid with the fear that the slightest creaks had awoken Him.

Another snore sounded, louder this time. She relaxed, but only a tiny bit.

She wasn't safe yet.

[Name] made her way across the hallway to the living room, peaking inside to see Him passed out on the couch, shirt lifted to expose part of his balloon belly, several empty beer bottles lying on the floor, on the table, and one still resting in his hand. The stench of alcohol did not make her twist her nose in disgust; she was used to it by now. Although undoubtedly, his alcoholic tendencies were one of the tremendous list of things she despised about him, just this once, she was relieved to see he had been drinking. Usually, it made him sleep so deeply that she'd not wake him easily.

Reluctant to waste any of her precious time, [Name] rushed to the closet on light feet, looking inside to see the set of keys, hung up on the wall. She reached to snatch them, but abruptly stopped herself: they'd jangle terribly if she wasn't cautious. No matter how drunk he was, it wasn't worth the risk. Taking them slowly, clutching every key together so they couldn't bang into each other, she sorted through them quietly, finding the tiny, silver key that would open the padlock on the gate outside and smiling to herself. Perfect.

With that, she tiptoed to the door, opened it and headed out, making sure to close it quietly. She made her way across the front garden towards the gate.

Ah, the gate. The gate that had been her sworn enemy since childhood. Eight feet of steel, with forked tips at the top. From inside the house, the gates were the gates to freedom. From outside, the gates to Hell. Both were held tight shut with a thick metal chain that was held together with a heavy padlock.

Now, she finally had the power to open them. Everything was ready. She had the money, the wits, and the bravery to leave this horror house and never come back.

Raising the key to the lock, she opened it, and a soft click sounded as the lock opened. She removed it, and the heavy chain began to fall down the gates, both metals clanging against each other with such volume that she flinched as if she'd been slapped.

Sucking in her breath, she glanced towards the house fearfully, eyes widening with alarm.

The living room lights flicked on.

[Name] opened the gates and ran.


	2. Orange

Chapter 2: Orange

The music was booming within Gilbert's pick up truck, mixed in with the sounds of jovial laughter of his friends, Antonio and Francis. The three were lively as ever, teasing each other and sharing stories and jokes with a lighthearted energy that seemed to bounce from one to the other naturally.

It was only for a few hours they'd been driving now, having set off at the very peak of dawn, the trio had thrown their belongings into the back of Gilbert's truck, a big red pick up truck that was chosen for its ability to carry lots of luggage. They were now on the road to the nearest city, where they intended to have some fun before hitting the road once more.

Antonio, who was seated in the back of the truck, while Francis occupied the passenger seat and Gil drove, eventually let out a small whine, "Can we stop somewhere? I'm hungry."

An exasperated sigh came from Francis, and he turned in his seat to look back at his friend with a frown, "Toni, I thought I told you to pack some food for the journey." He mentioned, raising an eyebrow at him while his bottom lip stuck out ever so slightly.

Antonio shook his head, brunette curls falling into his face with the action, "You did, and I did, but I don't feel like snacks. I want breakfast, we were so busy getting ready that we all skipped it."

At the mention of that, Francis thought it over for a moment, but before he could voice the thoughts going on in his head, Gilbert's voice rattled the truck:

"We should go get breakfast, then! I'm kinda hungry too, now that you mention it."

"But-" Francis crossed his arms, "We're going to run out of money if you two don't spend it wisely..." The blonde warned. They'd planned for the trip to last a month, and with gas prices, the prices of a motel or two, on top of the price of buying food and anything else they might come to need, he had a feeling their savings wouldn't last long. Especially not if Gilbert and Antonio were so careless.

"Aww, Francis, lighten up. It's one meal." Gilbert chided with a roll of his eyes, that typical grin coming to his features, his pearly teeth displayed as he did so. "We have money to spare."

"Yeah," Antonio chipped in, "The road trip will not be fun if we are worrying about money the entire time, either."

Francis nodded slowly, understanding them both, but still feeling concerned. "Alright, alright... one meal can't hurt." He gave in, smiling his killer-smile that made all of the ladies (and some men) swoon. "But just one."

With Francis having granted his permission, Gilbert pulled into the next service station (although he would have done so with or without permission). The three then headed across the parking lot and into the service station, all apparently having different ideas on where they'd be eating. Though, after some bickering that caught the attention of most of the people within the service station, it was finally decided that they'd dine in the exquisite and renowned...MacDonalds.

After collecting their order and heading to a booth, the three began to eat, Francis biting back complaints about the food: at the very least, it was cheap. Unfortunately, it also tasted cheap, in his opinion. But Antonio and Gilbert were enjoying their food, just glad to fill the void in their stomachs.

"So, when we get to the city," Antonio started, taking a sip of his coffee before continuing, "what are we doing?"

The question lead to a few seconds of contemplative silence, Gil and Francis exchanging equally clueless looks.

"I...suppose we'll find out when we get there," Francis said quietly after a while.

Finding this to be quite a suitable answer, Gilbert smirked widely, his round eyes lighting up with excitement. "The fun will find us." He declared.

Antonio looked between the two for a moment, raising an eyebrow before he burst out into laughter, joy spreading to his features. While the other two stared at their friend in confusion as to what was oh-so-funny, Antonio simply continued to laugh, until finally, it died down into chuckles and he could explain himself. "We did not plan this out very well, did we?" He asked, still grinning with amusement.

With new understanding, a small round of laughter came from Francis and Gilbert, who nodded in agreement. "We sure didn't," Gil snickered, "But that makes it more exciting, right?"

"Right," Antonio smiled.

The three soon finished their breakfast, making their way back to the truck and onto the road once more. It wasn't long before the surroundings melted from occasional buildings and warehouses to being nothing but a barren, sandy wasteland, sliced in the middle by the singe road they travelled down.

The horizon was flat, save for a singular figure in the distance, so tiny it appeared as a dot on the horizon that none of the three had noticed yet.

A dot that would change their road trip from a friends outing, to a rescue mission...

((AN: I just wanted to say, I know it's been a slow start, and the chapters have been quite small, but the next chapter will be both much longer, and have much more going on in it. I just wanted to sort of set the scene for these chapters, I guess. Hope you've enjoyed it so far anyways, though!))


	3. Red

Chapter 3: Red

Scorching, unforgiving and furious sunlight beat down on the back of [Name]'s neck, sweat sticking to her skin, her hair becoming greasy with the sweat. Cracks embedded the dr ground below, and although her feet were becoming increasingly sweaty and sore in her shoes, she didn't dare remove them, already knowing the ground below would be mercilessly hot and just leave her blistered and burned. Trudging on, each step taking more effort than the last, [Name] tried to remain optimistic; at least she'd gotten away.

He had chased her once she'd gotten out of the gates, she didn't know how long for, because she was so busy running with her heart stuck in her throat, lungs burning and hair whipping around her face that she'd not had the chance to look behind herself. Although she'd spent a good amount of her journey (as much as her lungs allowed) sprinting like her life depended on it- which, it sort of did- she didn't think he'd spent long chasing her. After all, he was drunk and out of shape. He couldn't have got that far on foot. But she knew he'd be searching for her by car now, so she had to stay on high alert.

After dragging herself another mile further or so, hoping to end up somewhere, she saw in the distance a gas station. God, she hoped it wasn't a mirage, for her dry mouth was already watering at the thought of getting a nice, refreshing bottle of water. If she was lucky, there'd be a bathroom too; she wanted to clean herself up a bit.

When finally she walked inside the air conditioned gas station, she let out a contented sigh. Sweet, sweet air conditioning. As she browsed, she took her time, letting the cold air soothe her skin. It felt so good, she could faint...

Actually, she was becoming increasingly worried she really would faint, and maybe it wasn't because of how amazing the AC felt. Concerned, she quickly grabbed a few bottles of water from the shelf, then looking around for some snacks. She snatched up a few packets of beef jerky, a packet of gum, and lastly, a loaf of bread. Strange mix, but she figured that'd last for however long until she'd next find somewhere to buy things.

Once she'd bought it all, she shoved it into her backpack, and made her way to the ladies restrooms which resided outside, besides the actual gas station. Rushing inside, she headed to the sinks, placing her backpack on them and opening it up, taking out a toothbrush and paste, giving her teeth a thorough brush and then spitting into the sink, washing the brush and placing it back in the bag along with the paste. Then, she took one of her water bottles, opened it, and began to drink, chugging half of the bottle down in a few seconds flat. Placing the half empty bottle down, she took a stick of deodorant from her bag, spraying it all over herself.

Suddenly, she wasn't too dizzy anymore, and she didn't feel too gross either.

For a short while, she stayed in the bathroom, sitting on the floor and not caring for the dirty tiles: her feet ached, and any seat was a seat.

The pain in her feet had ebbed away in her time spent there, and, fortunately, in her time spent nobody else had walked in. A rather disheveled looking girl on the bathroom floor, dressed only in a baggy and cheap hoody and a pair of denim shorts would undoubtedly look strange. Standing up, she put her backpack back onto her shoulders and headed out, getting back onto the road. She wanted to make as much distance as she could before nightfall...and she really wasn't sure what she'd do when it got dark.

In the worst case scenario, she'd sleep outside, on the dry, dirty ground...

The sky had darkened from a sky blue, to a calming, beautiful peach, now turning to a darkening lilac. It was a beautiful sight, but he didn't voice that opinion, feeling Gilbert would likely mock him for making such a girly comment. Honestly, he wasn't so bothered by teasing, but he didn't want to give Gilbert a chance to be smug or loud. He might wake the Spaniard in the back, who had long ago fallen asleep.

The blondes eyes began to fall closed, barely even open anymore as he readied himself to retire to the world of sleep himself. But then, they snapped open again.

Just out of distance of the headlights was a figure he couldn't quite work out for the lack of light, but all he could tell was that whoever this person was, they were running away from something. "Gilbert, do you see that?" He breathed in a quick gasp, fully awake now.

Gilbert nodded, his eyebrows furrowed together and a frown etched deep into his features. It was clear he was making some decision, and not entirely sure what to do. "Yeah- should I pull over?" He asked, voice laced with caution and concern.

Francis didn't hesitate to respond, "Oui- Yes of course! They could be in trouble... nobody runs in a place like this at night for no reason."

"Yes, but it could be dangerous for us-"

"Oh for goodness sake, Gilbert, it's one person, they can't be that dangerous!"

With his simple snapping, Gilbert sighed and pulled over, rolling the window down and calling out to the person. "Hey, you alright over there?"

For once, Francis was glad for the naturally high volume of his friends voice. There was no way the person couldn't have heard him, and the figure did slow to a stop, turning to look at the car. Gilbert drove closer, so slow it might have been walking pace, and eventually the headlights were close enough so that the persons face could be seen:

It was a girl, her terrified face illuminated by the headlights, her [eye colour] eyes wide with terror and alarm, and she was covered in dirt. Her chest was visibly heaving up and down as she tried to gain her breath, and slowly, her cheeks reddened from her clear lack of oxygen. Gasping with concern, Francis quickly got out of the car, hearing Antonio's tired voice ask what was going on as he did so, but ignoring it in favour of going to the girl.

"Are you alright, Cherie?" He asked, heading over to her. "What were you running from?"

[Name] stared back at the blonde man who now looked to her with such expressed worry, his soft, blue eyes seeming truly genuine. But she could barely focus on that. There were more pressing things on her mind, for one, the relief that it wasn't Him. When she'd seen the headlights in the distance as she tried to get some sleep on the ground, she'd just panicked when she noticed that it was too dark to see the car itself. So she'd just ran, unable to think of what else to do. The other thing that was on her mind was this man before her now: not only being cautious of his intentions, but because he seemed so...familiar.

"Cherie?"

The voice beckoned her from her thoughts, and she cleared her throat. "I'm...fine." She answered stiffly, her gaze snapping towards the car. Two more people were inside it, and both were already exiting the vehicle, making their way over. "Please just...go, I'm fine."

The three exchanged confused and alarmed looks, until Gil spoke up. "But... what were you running from? We can't just leave you out here if you might be in danger, that'd be a dick move." He said to her, crossing his arms.

[Name] bit her tongue, trying to think up some tactful answer. "I was just taking a jog." No, not the best lie, but possibly less suspicious than 'oh, I was running from your car because I thought you were someone else'. That easily implied the truth.

"That didn't look like a jog, Cherie... are you sure you're alright? It's really not safe for a young girl to be alone out here-" Francis began, but he was immediately cut off.

"I said I'm fine." She almost snapped, crossing her arms and looking away from the three men.

Antonio, who'd been silent the entire time as he was still fairly unsure as to what the situation was, finally spoke up. "Do I know you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side, eyes narrowing a little as he tried to find why she looked so familiar.

[Name] silenced, unable to really think of a reply. "I don't know...I don't think so unless..." She froze, eyes widening as she realised just who this man was- just who those three were. "Antonio?! Francis and Gilbert?"

The three exchanged some more looks, Antonio nodding. "Si! How do you know us? Forgive me, I recognise your face but I can not tell where from."

"High school..." She murmured, "I knew you from high school. I dropped out, so...you probably wouldn't remember me. I wasn't your friend anyway." Oh no. Not friend at all... [Name] had been somewhat of an outcast. She had no friends, and all because she was the 'weird girl'. And these three...bastards before her, they really didn't help. Gilbert's name calling, Francis flirting just to mock her...Antonio pretending to be her friend. A strong, pure wave of hot hatred began to melt into her veins, and she remembered just how much hurt this little gang had brought her back then. Scowling at all three, she glared with fury, "Yes, I remember you all, but I didn't want to remember any of you. Leave me alone, I'm fine."

The group stood in shock. Her attitude had turned so fast, and still none recognised her until finally, Antonio uttered her name. That was all it took for the other two to gasp, also remembering just who this girl was.

"[Name] the freak!" Gil remembered, not meaning the name nastily, but that had just been what everyone referred to her as in high school. He only realised his mistake when Francis slapped him up the back of the head, and he winced, "Ow- ugh, uh, sorry about that- just...habit."

[Name] shook her head and rolled her eyes, trembling with anger where she stood. "S-Sorry?! Christ, you've obviously not grown up at all, you sad, sad man." She growled, "Tch, 'sorry', I would've loved to hear that back in high school when you all- ugh...forget it. I shouldn't be wasting my breath on you."

Francis gulped, realising exactly what she was talking about. While none of them were so mature now, they'd all been much more immature, insensitive and lacking compassion as teenagers. "Cherie, you must forgive us. I realise we were all less than kind, but we were only young. Kids do stupid things, that is simply a fact. Though, if it makes any difference, I apologise for my behaviour when I was younger."

"Me too," Gil chipped in, "But...it was just harmless teasing-"

"Harmless?!" The word was spat from her mouth with such a vengeance that Gilbert flinched, and she barked out a laugh. "Harmless... my God, you really are so stupid...do you have any idea how shitty high school was for me? Because it was hella shitty, and none of you made it any better."

A guilty silence hung over the three men, none of them able to reply for a while. Of course, it hadn't really occurred to any of them until now how badly they had impacted her life.

"Exactly. So don't you dare just call it 'harmless teasing'." She sneered at Gilbert, turning to leave when Antonio called after her.

"Maybe we can make it up to you!" He called, "We could give you a ride?"

The idea struck Francis as brilliant, and he quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes! You could clearly use one, if you don't mind my saying."

"Guys, the road trip-" Gilbert tried, but after receiving two glowers from his friends, he sighed, "Fine... I guess we do owe you a ride, [Name]. It wouldn't be very awesome of me to deny you of that."

[Name] didn't want their help. She hated the thought of needing it, but...she needed it. If she could get in the truck, she'd both get to the next city faster, and she wouldn't have to worry about Him finding her, for a little while, at least. She couldn't afford to turn the offer down.

With a reluctant sigh, she turned to face the three. "None of you talk to me, you don't act like my friend, you don't ask questions and you drop me off at the next city. Deal?"

Albeit confused, they all nodded, mumbling their agreement.

"Good." She said, "In that case... yes, make it up to me by taking me to the city."


End file.
